Internet Inequality In Our Schools: Is Bridging the Divide Possible?

On July 15th, students across the nation eagerly awoke to the long-awaited release of results for the AP Exams. So many panicked students flooded the College Board website, that the server crashed multiple times throughout the day. Single numbers, ones that supposedly yield large influence over college admissions, waited patiently on the screen.

Unbeknownst to millions of students across the United States, socioeconomic status played an unfortunate role in determining who actually participated in the exams. For instance, in Connecticut, low-income students only make up one-fourth of the total enrollment for AP courses, even though they make up more than three-tenths of the state’s high school aged population. Moreover, with many important standardized tests and school exams now being held online, this gap, called the digital divide, only continues to expand.

The Digital Divide and Its Impacts

What exactly is the digital divide? Put simply, the digital divide is the gap between individuals and communities in regards to their ability to access computers or the internet. Sadly, in today’s increasingly digitally connected world, this divide has only increased in Plano and across the United States. In Plano, 15.9% of households do not have reliable internet connection. In Dallas, the percentage is even higher, as 42.3% of households do not have reliable internet connections. In fact, 1 in 3 households don’t have broadband, or connections to communication networks that make it possible to access online education, remote learning plans, or job information in the midst of this frightening pandemic. 

Moreover, research has concluded that both poverty and race impair access to the internet. 

• A fifth of students live in households that receive food stamps; they are sixteen percent less likely to have access to high-speed internet and ten percent less likely to have access to internet at all.

• African American children and youth were eight percent less likely to have access to high-speed internet and four percent more likely to have no internet access.

The looming impacts of internet inequality for students and adults are particularly dire. Students who can’t afford the luxury of the internet often are excluded from the already flawed education system. They aren’t able to routinely complete school assignments and cannot access crucial materials, like Google Classroom. As a result, they often score worse on standardized tests, have lower grades, and fail to complete homework. In a study conducted by Michigan State’s Quello Center, students with stable internet connections reported a 7.5% higher GPA than students without broadband access.

However, the repercussions of poor internet connection go far beyond individual education; it affects human livelihoods. A lack of broadband access signigicantly affect one's schooling, and leads to a lesser likelihood of pursuing post-secondary education. Sadly, this just further cultivates the cycle of poverty for many families. With the current pandemic exacerbating the divide between the rich and the poor, sustainable action needs to be taken to ensure a better future. 

What We Can Do to End Internet Inequality

With over 1.5 million children living in poverty in Texas and millions more without broadband access, the need for equal access to education should be a major priority for citizens across Texas. Here are several ways we can address this disparity.

• Talk with local legislators, council members, and representatives about the situation, urging them to find solutions to this problem. For example, Community Access Centers, or CAC’s, have been used by low-income families for internet access. We can fight to expand access to these resources.

• Increase airwave access, fairly. Presently, the services provided by major telecommunications companies do not have the entire bandwidth necessary to meet the needs of all unconnected Americans. However, the Federal Communications Commission has access to loads of wireless spectrum, which they can appropriate to companies that will focus on low-income communities.

• Donate to fundraising drives or initiatives. Some companies like WesTex Connect, have set up free hotspots in local communities and parking lots. 

• Promote the restructuring of current educational policies. Talk to schools and educational facilities about developing homework packets for low-income students, who can’t afford to access materials on the internet.  

• Educate others on the importance of expanding internet access to those in lower socioeconomic positions, especially in education. As former President Barack Obama explains, “The Internet is not a luxury, it’s a necessity”. 

Sadly, the need for internet access and food security has forced low-income students in Plano and across the United States to attend school during a public health crisis. When weighing the advantages and disadvantages of attending school in-person, understand the narratives of less-fortunate students - those who are forced to return to school, to access resources unavailable at home. 

The plight of the lower class has been ignored for far too long. What makes this situation particularly frightening is that those affected are, in the most literal sense, your neighbors. It’s important to understand - this crisis isn’t happening in another country, but one taking place in our own backyards. While we may understand the struggle of coursework and classes, we will never understand the struggle the impoverished face every single day. As members of the PISD community, we have an obligation to embrace, rather than ignore, a need for change. 

Written By: Patrick Lu & Justin Zhu